Leader Rough Draft

What really makes an amazing leader? For centuries many people both great and wicked have asked themselves this question. When we think of good leaders we pull out names like Martin Luther King Jr, President John F. Kennedy, or even Queen Katharine of Aragon. When we think of good leaders we think of more political figures. Most people think that a person can only be a leader if you have a somewhat political title. Martin Luther King Jr. had the title of a minister and political activist. President Kennedy was the thirty fifth president of the United States of America. Katharine of Aragon became one of the most beloved Queens of England. True, they are all great leaders, but they are not the only ones. Most people count out the most obvious of people. Our parents for one, friends, or even the most random of people are leaders as well. People overlook them, though, because their actions help us day by day not once in a lifetime. It is not what the person does, but what people learn from them that matters.

Our parents have raised us since we were one second old. When we were scared and confused in a new world, we knew nothing but the instinct to survive. We may not like what our parents do sometimes but we learn from everything they tell us to do. For example, when parents want the dishes to be done, they are not doing it to torture, though it may feel like it. They want the dishes done because they know they are trying to teach a valuable life lesson. Another thing is when they push their kids to do well in school. Parents are not doing it to be tyrants, but to make sure their children can be the best they can be. They want you to grow up and be successful in everything you do. They are leader because whether we want to think so or not, we learn from them and we look up to them

Some things we can only learn from our friends. Learning things such as heartbreak, compassion, and acceptance are a few examples. Friends might stab other us in the back sometimes, but that teaches us to never let anything get to us. We learn to toughen up and not let the bad stuff get to us. Also we learn things about compassion from friends. For example one of my very close friends, Tyler Yeargain, helped me through a tough period of my life. Last year, my parents got in to a nasty divorce and he was there for me every argument, every crying-fest, and every bump along the way. I will never forget what he did for me and I hope to return the favor someday. It is people like him that make me want to be a better person. That is why he is a leader in my eyes. Acceptance is another thing people can learn from their friends. I was part of a debate class my senior year of high school and there were people in the class that I learned a lot from. In the class, we would debate different topics such as abortion and the death penalty. Though we had different opinions on all the issues we did not let that get in the way of our friendships. I felt the whole class became friends of mine because they did not bash my beliefs, rather, they accepted that mine might be different.

A person you met minutes ago could also be a leader. I wonder if people ever have thought to their selves “did the action I just do effect someone else’s life?” I read an article a while back, I do not remember exactly where I saw it, but this is the main point of it. There is a boy named Bill, he was one of those people that were made fun of and people would put him as an outcast. Bill was walking home one day from school and he was carrying a whole bunch of papers. After walking about five minutes, the wind became very strong and blew the papers right out of his hand. Papers were scattered everywhere and Bill was frantically trying to pick up all the papers when someone’s hand came down and started helping him pick up the papers. This hand belonged to a boy named Eric. When the boys were finished picking up the papers, Eric said he would help Bill and walk with him home. Eric and Bill came to talk the whole way to Bills house talking about different things they had in common. When they got to Bills house they decided to play some X-Box and before they knew it, they were the best of friends. About five years down the road Bill asked Eric, “Do you know why I was carrying all those papers home from school?” Eric said, “I do not know, because you had a lot of homework?” Then to Eric’s utter amazement Bill said, “No, I was cleaning out my locker. You see I believed that nobody liked me and that I was just an annoyance to people, so I was going to go home and commit suicide.” The moral to this story is that Eric was a leader because he helped someone no matter what people thought of him. He helped a total stranger out and in turn it affected Bill’s life greatly.

 I wanted to point out that not all people are leaders because of their status. Just because people will not be the President or a Queen does not mean they cannot be a leader. Being a leader is when people can learn from the actions people do. When people do selfless actions and people’s lives are affected. Parents, boyfriends, girlfriends, best friends, enemies, teachers, and random strangers are leaders. If they teach someone something about them self, than that is all that counts in the end. So the next time there is a discussion of leaders, please do not automatically say “Martin Luther King Jr.” Think about the other people in life. Think of all the people who were there for people through rough times or happy times. Because those people are leaders, they are the ones to look up to.

This is wonderful writing Danielle but I'm quite unsure if you did the assignment correctly. What non profit organization or need in our community do you see that we can change with our grant? Yes I agree that anyone can be leaders, but as leaders ourselves, what do you want to do in this community? Maybe, from your example above, you believe that helping prevent suicide would be an excellent cause to donate money to. Try applying the principals you stated in this, and figure out where you want to go for our grant. - Andrea Inman

I agree with Andrea. I can see where a leadership essay might be used as a springboard for writing the type of WTE that we have been working towards these past few weeks; however, at the same time, any prose whatsoever can be repurposed as fodder for revision into something else. If this is your plan, Danielle, maybe you could tell us what your revision plan is--exactly how you plan to mold this "source code" into a writing to explore piece--at the top of the draft, so that we can help you as you interpolate your exploration with these riffs on leadership. -ShareRiff